THOR Paintings | Inspiration & Process
My inspiration comes in-part from the actual process of paintings and my mental/spiritual "escape" I experience when I paint each story. I recently described this phenomenon to a fellow artist and friend. "What is your painting process?" he asked. "I generally start with a sketch and idea, and start to paint and get something on the canvas. I start out working things out more analytically...like getting the perspective right, an exciting composition, color, and all that. Then, just when I think I have everything figured out, that two dimensional surface of canvas...begins to change. It's like a reaction or an act of...I dunno..."paranormal physics" LOL! The flat surface sort of dissolves and becomes increasingly translucent...curiouser and curiouser. Then, with your eyes and mind along, with that one smear of a finger or stroke of a color, it starts to "tear away" that 2D "membrane" and it feels like I have poked through to another "place". A place no less real than the one I sit and paint in. It becomes a world I peer into...fully dimensional, and the characters and things are no longer silent. The wind blows from inside that picture...and I swear can feel it on my face. That... is when it gets truly magical!"
Painting becomes far more challenging at this point, however....harder. I find I have stirred up some sort of "energy"...almost like the painting has a "spirit" that I now have a responsibility to work with instead of deciding for it. I find myself asking what this painting "wants to be", rather than commanding it to become a thing it would never care to be. If I allow this process to unfold, and balance all these factors, I reach a point where the painting resolves itself into truly pleasant "escape" for me to dwell inside of. I created a thing I can play with...and be part of. Just like the cardboard rocket ships me and Mom made. Just like the tree houses and forts I would build with my buddies. So my friends, the subject of my paintings are partly a selfish adventure into my own mind and memories that I wish to have others enjoy and play alongside me. It's no fun to play in alone! I love welcoming others into these worlds. I really enjoy making friends with those who collect my work, and often, these new friends have their own stories they share, because after all, everyone has their own special idea of the perfect place to escape to.
~~ THOR